Quantification isn’t the best approach. Yet, I like to consider various elements of the railway scene when reviewing my photography.
I realize that many photographers focus their work on those elements that grip their interest.
In my travels, I like to keep my spectrum as broad as possible. I’m always seeking to capture different scenes that relate to the railway as a whole.
Below are some of the many categories covered in my photography and in the posts on Tracking the Light. Undoubtedly some topics are more popular than others.
North American Class 1 lines.Freight cars.Suburban railways.Mainline steam trips.Signals.Railway maintenance equipment.Railway precursors.Subways and rapid transit.Train crews.Light rail and streetcar systems.North American short lines.Railway tracks.Preserved railways.Abandoned railways.Heritage streetcar lines.Maintenance trains.Amtrak.Railway bridges.Railway stations.Trolley museums.Disused lines.Advertising liveries.Industrial railways.Tourist trains.
During one of my recent Metrolink blitzes, I rode from Los Angeles Union Station to Santa Ana where I changed for an Inland Empire-Orange County Line train running from Oceanside to San Bernardino.
I timed this brief visit to coincide with a flurry of Amtrak and Metrolink trains. I had just 45 minutes to make images of this classic Santa Fe station having never previously explored here.
I found Santa Ana to be an excellent mid-morning location.
The footbridge is photographer friendly and the old Santa Fe building makes for a suitably California setting. The height of the bridge allows for both distant telephoto views as well as wide-angle down-on photos.
I exposed these views digitally using my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm XT1.
I arrived on Metrolink train 600 from Los Angeles Union Station. I had enough time to walk to the headend and expose this view with my Lumix LX7 before the train departed.Metrolink 687 arrives behind a borrow BNSF AC4400CW. This framed view was exposed using my Lumix LX7.A Metrolink F59PHI works at the back of Los Angeles bound train number 687. Here my Fujinon 18-135mm lens gave me a nice view of the train and station from the footbridge.Metrolink 633 is among Metrolink’s services that doesn’t serve Los Angeles Union Station. This is a short-turn that runs from Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo to Fullerton.By using my 18-135 zoom on my Fuji XT1 I was able to exposed a series of trailing photos of Metrolink 633 as it accelerated away from Santa Ana.This is a telephoto view of train 633 from the same vantage point as the photo above.Metrolink’s timetable shows both of its services to Santa Ana as well as Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner.A detailed view of the Santa Ana station exposed using my FujiFilm XT1.Amtrak 566 Pacific Surfliner slows for its station stop.Metrolink 802 will take me to San Bernardino. I arrived under partly cloudy skies and departed under a California blue dome. Happy days!
Yesterday on Tracking the Light I displayed views of Metro Rail from the First Street Bridge in Los Angeles.
Here are few views of trains from the bridge.
This scene reminded me of Germany’s Rhein Valley with busy lines on opposite sides of a river; except cast in concrete, without much water or unspoiled scenery, hemmed in by urban growth and decorated with graffiti. Oh, and the trains are diesel-powered rather than electric.
A BNSF AC4400CW works toward Los Angeles Union Station with Metrolink train 607.At the back of 607 is a Metrolink MP36PH-3C diesel.Union Pacific light engines on the east bank of the LA River.Railways in stereo. An outbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner can be seen on the west bank, with Union Pacific diesels on the east side.On its way to San Diego, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner against the LA skyline.
The broad, largely dry concrete channel is symbolic of the chronic drought in Southern California.
Although unworldly, the environment around the Los Angeles River is undoubtedly familiar to many people because of its prominent role in Hollywood Films and popular television.
Metrolink runs the Los Angeles-area heavy rail commuter/suburban services. Metro Rail runs LA’s subway and light rail lines.
Earlier this month (August 2016), I made some views of the Gold Line extension to Atlantic from First Street. This offers some nice views of the cars with downtown Los Angeles skyline.
Looking east toward Atlantic. Gold Line’s Pico/Aliso stop can be seen in the distance. (Not to be confused with Pico on the Blue Line/Expo Line that is located southwest of downtown. Just in case you were confused).This trailing view of an in bound Gold Line set was made with a slightly wide-angle focal length using my FujiFilm X-T1.Here’s the same light rail train exposed from the same vantage point, but using a telephoto focal length, which compresses the distance and allows for the skyscrapers to visually loom above the road. A secondary benefit from this perspective is that it crops out the high-voltage wires that featured prominently in the earlier view. (Not so good, of course, if you are a wire enthusiast!)
To pull in the skyline, I used a telephoto lens, which makes the buildings seem larger when compared to the light rail cars. When taken to extremes this effect can make the skyscrapers appear surreal.
I was keen to explore one of the Los Angeles-area’s most recent light rail extensions: Metro Rail’s so-called Expo Line that runs west from a connection with the Blue Line (near downtown) and roughly follows the alignment of an old Pacific Electric route along Exposition Boulevard to Santa Monica.
The portion of the line from Culver City to Santa Monica was opened in May this year, and so still has that newly-built appearance.
LA Metro Rail pays tribute to the old Pacific Electric at its stations with artwork and historical interludes.
Attention to the platform art will yield the viewer bits of history and PE heritage.
Using my Lumix LX7 and FujiFilm X-T1 I made these images under bright sunny skies. Yet, I wonder about the opportunities for evening and twilight images on this line?
The Expo Line’s largely east-west alignment combined with LA’s propensity for air-pollution should present some impressive lighting conditions.
I’m not the first observer to embrace the pictorial effects of Los Angeles air quality.
Perhaps a visit with a very long lens during a smog alert could yield some colorful results?
A telephoto view exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1 of a modern light rail car approaching Santa Monica.The Expo Line features a variety of light rail equipment, which is an uncommon feature for such a new line. Exposed at Santa Monica with my FujiFilm X-T1Many stations are decorated with artwork and embellished with historical tidbits. Exposed with my FujiFilm X-T1Expo Line station at Santa Monica.A Lumix LX7 view of an LA-bound car departing Santa Monica.Trailing view of the same cars. Metro Rail is advertising the Expo Line on the side of this car.An old car in new paint graces the streets of Santa Monica. LX7 photo.Clean new signs are a feature of the Expo Line extension.Outbound cars at Jefferson. Lumix LX7 photo.Jefferson; cars stop just long enough to make a photo before boarding. This one is 1027; do YOU remember the significance of that number?
At Pico, the Expo Line shares platforms with the Blue Line (that runs to Long Beach). Careful, you might board the wrong car outbound!Pico looking toward downtown LA. Lumix LX7 view.
For more on the Expo Line see this article in the LA Times:
It was more than 25 years ago that I made this evening view at Pinole, California using my Leica looking west across San Pablo Bay toward Mt. Tamalpias.
Fog rolls in from the Pacific; and the SP was still the SP.
Exposed with a Leica M2 with 50mm Summicron on Kodak Tri-X processed in Agfa Rodinal.
Back in the day, Southern Pacific’s famed Daylight was often pictured crossing Santa Susana Pass—a scenic cleft in the rocks between Simi Valley and Chatsworth, California.
Once a remote area, this is now hemmed in by suburban development, freeways and public parks.
Riding Metrolink, I’d noted several potentially interesting locations on the west side of the pass (SP timetable west, today Union Pacific timetable north).
Reviewing Google Maps, I found that views of the line should be accessible from Corriganville Park, located a little ways to the east of Simi Valley. So one afternoon last week, David Hegarty and I made an exploration of the area.
There’s a flurry of Metrolink and Amtrak trains in the evening. We found some locations near CP Davis (location of a passing siding) with an aim to make images of BNSF GE-built AC4400CWs that have been working many Metrolink trains.
A BNSF General Electric-built AC4400CW works Metrolink 118 near CP Davis on the west (north) side of Santa Susana Pass.A few of Metrolink’s F59PHI diesels have the full paint treatment completed with blue and aqua ribbons. It was nice to get this one working with a bit of scenery on train 117 from Los Angeles.Although not the prettiest locomotives, Metrolink’s boxy model F59PH diesels make for a bit of variety. Here train 119 is seen near tunnel 26.Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, train 790, featured a GE Genesis P42 instead of the Amtrak F59PH’s more commonly assigned to California services. The engine is at the back of the consist working in push-pull mode.
I exposed these images with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera, but I also made a few color slides that will be processed at a later date.
Back in 1994, I’d made a project of Southern Pacific’s famous Coast Line focusing on the line between Watsonville Junction and Santa Barbara, California.
Traffic was sparse compared with other SP mainlines. Yet there were 2-3 through freights in each direction daily, plus Amtrak numbers 11 and 14—the Coast Starlight.
Last week, I decided to revisit Gaviota, California to make photos of the Coast Starlight. I often require images of this popular train as illustrations in books and magazines, and my 1994 Kodachrome slides are now a bit dated.
However sparse through freight was on the Coast in 1994, it was busier then than now. I neither saw nor heard of any Union Pacific trains on the move during my exploration, and the only active UP presence I noted was that of a passing HyRail truck and a track gang.
Looking Southern Pacific timetable east (Union Pacific direction south—and never you mind the compass) Amtrak’s Seattle-bound Coast Starlight works along the Pacific Coast on the bluffs above Gaviota. Exposed using a FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera in August 2016. SP’s Daylight look especially fine here.
Amtrak 14 was on time and the pleasant mix of sun and coastal mist made for a nicely lit scene that captures the spirit of this supremely scenic run.
Perched atop a high hill in a purpose-built building in Simi Valley is Boeing 707 27000 that served for nearly three decades as Air Force One.
Boeing’s 707 is unquestionably one of the most beautiful commercial aircraft.
This 707 was styled by pioneer industrial designer Raymond Loewy for its role as Air Force One.
Loewy is well known in railroad circles for his locomotive and train designs. This included Pennsylvania’s GG1 electric and S1 Duplex steam locomotive, and Northern Pacific’s post-war North Coast Limited streamliner.
Panoramic composite exposed with a Lumix LX7.Working in silhouette, I made this low angle view to show the lines of the 707.
Under the belly of the plane.Classic Loewy styling.
Air Force One is a key display at Simi Valley’s Ronald Reagan and Air Force One Museum. I exposed these photographs using my Lumix LX7.
Metrolink is nearly a quarter century old, having commenced operations in 1992.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve enjoyed traveling and photographing the Los Angeles-area Metrolink. The comfortable coaches, variety of locomotives, and interesting route structure makes it one of the more interesting suburban railways in the United States.
Interior view of a Rotem double deck
In addition to lines focused on Los Angeles Union Station are several non-radial routes/services, which makes Metrolink unusual among American commuter lines.
All trains are diesel powered with double-deck cars. The newer Rotem-built cars are my favorite to travel in.
Detail of a Rotem-built double deck.
Using my Lumix LX7 (and other cameras), I’ve made dozens of images from the train, as well as interior views of the equipment, and of course views of the trains and stations.
One of the older cars.Rotem double-deck detail.Rolling along through suburban LA.Passengers board a morning train.Rolling toward Los Angeles Union Station behind a BNSF AC4400CW.Paused at Riverside.BNSF local freight at San Bernardino.
A pair of Bord na Mona loaded trains work west toward Lanesborough, County Longford on August 9, 2013.
I made this image on Ireland’s three-foot gauge Bord na Mona (Peat Bord) near Lanesborough on this day three years ago.
To compress the space and make the most of the two trains following one another in close succession, I used my Canon 7D fitted with a 200m telephoto lens.
Tracking the Light is on Autopilot while Brian is Traveling!
Combine agricultural dust from the San Joaquin Valley with Los Angeles-area air pollution and you get some wonderful golden light. Throw in a few wild fires and it gets even better!
All that pollution acts as a huge red-orange filter.
On this evening in late July 2016, fellow photographer David Hegarty and I were fortunate to be in place in the California Tehachapis to make good use of the golden light.
As previously featured on Tracking the Light, the railroad was a bit backed up. This enabled us to find a train at the moment of sunset.
A timetable-southward BNSF freight gets a green signal at Belleville, California. FujiFilm X-T1 photo. Image was not altered in post processing except to scale for internet presentation.California golden glint; exposed digitally using a Fujifilm X-T1 with 18-135mm lens. Sorry about the wires. I’d crop them, but then the photo would have been ‘altered’. Right?Here I’ve included the setting sun. This shows the angle of the light relative to the train necessary to produce the glint effect. I’m standing at the Bealeville grade crossing.
These images have not been altered digitally in post processing, except for scaling necessary for digital presentation. To maintain the rich rosy glow, I selected a daylight white balance, and was very careful with my exposure, which I selected manually to maintain texture in the sky.
And yes, I also exposed a slide using Fujichrome Provia 100F.
I made these views at Los Angeles Union Station the other morning featuring some of Metrolink’s Electro Motive Division-built F59PHIs.
These locomotives were styled in accordance with mid-1990s General Motors automobile aesthetical considerations.
Today, with two decades of hard service behind them they look like battle worn machines and reminded me of the Penn-Central E-units I used to see as a kid.
Using my FujiFilm XT1, I made some detailed studies of several of these old machines.
For this view I wanted to include the tower to the left of the station. To make the composition work, I used my Zeiss 12mm Tuoit, which had secondary effect of providing a suitable color palate for the scene. Notice the optical illusion at the very top of the frame that makes the edge of the photo seem skewed. Still using the Zeiss 12mm, I walked up close to the old F59PHI and made this slightly unusual perspective. A little bit of contrast control was needed in post processing.Metrolink 880 has evidence of a collision. The nose section is made of of fiberglass and designed to help protect the crew. Exposed with my Fujinon 18-135mm lens.
Here’s a vertical format view made from the same angle. Which do you prefer?Nose comparison. I’ve always liked this sort of image where a locomotive’s shape is echoed. In the old days I’d do this sort of thing with E and F units.
Having been stuck in a few Los Angeles area-tailbacks lately, I’ll say, it’s no fun. However, when the railroad gets jammed, it can make for some bountiful photographic opportunities.
Union Pacific owns and dispatches the old Southern Pacific route over the Tehachapis, yet BNSF (operating on a trackage rights arrangement inherited from the Santa Fe ) runs the lion’s share of the traffic. The mix of UP and BNSF plus outstanding scenery and blazing sun have the stage set.
To adapt a hackneyed Hollywood phrase; ‘Light, cameras, action . . .’
On this late July afternoon UP wasn’t having a good day. One of its northward trains developed braking problems descending near Cable and northward trains began to stack up behind it, including the BNSF ‘Earthworm’ unit grain train that we’d photographed earlier in the day (see: The Earthworm and a Joshua Tree)
UP’s southward trains hadn’t faired much better; as a very heavy manifest had struggled upgrade at a walking pace adding to more congestion.
By evening, UP’s northward train had reached Caliente, where it held the mainline short of the first intermediate signal (as instructed by the dispatcher),while a BNSF southward manifest was in the siding.
More southward trains were coming behind this train, as the loaded northward earthworm crawled downgrade and stopped at the pit of the Caliente horseshoe, short of the grade crossing.
Gridlock!
Three trains at Caliente and nothing moving. Furthermore, a pair of UP Z-trains were making a meet at Cliff.
At this point it was like shooting fish in a barrel, to use another handy cliché, and the evening light was only getting better.
Stay tooned! 😉
Trains on all tracks and nothing moving; UP DPUs on the back of a northward freight holding the mainline, a BNSF northward train in the siding, while on the upper level of the horseshoe is the BNSF ‘Earthworm’ grain train, with its headend holding on the opposite side of the grade crossing behind me.Head-end of the Earthworm grain train. Just standing there in warm California sun. I think Kodak exited the Kodachrome business too soon!Finally, the BNSF Earthworm gets a signal. Here’s today’s photo lesson: By shifting the focus from the locomotives to the ballast in the foreground I’ve altered the natural perspective. Essentially, I’m tricking the eye into looking down and this focus combined with the pastel lighting makes the scene seem more like a diorama. Of course you may need to view this image larger than 3×5 inches to get the full effect.Ok, enough playing around, here I’ve focused on the main event as the rails have begun to squeal.Looking railroad timetable north (formerly this was west under the old SP timetable) the earthworm descends toward Bakersfield.Here we have the first set of DPUs (distributed power units—railroad speak for un-manned radio-controlled remotely-placed locomotives.)And a new BNSF GE-built Tier IV works as a second set of DPUs at the back of the grain train.Some quick driving to a pre-selected overlook granted me a final view of the Earthworm as it rolls along Caliente Creek. Who said, ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it’?
The magnificence of the former Southern Pacific crossing of California’s Tehachapi Range is the antique sinuosity of the line combined with the bucolic nature of the terrain and unusually heavy freight traffic.
Last weekend, I made these views near Tunnel 2 between Bealeville and Caliente using my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera.
On the SP this would have been an eastward train, today on Union Pacific it is considered southward. In both situations movement directions are by the timetable and have little relationship to the compass.
Like a long snake, the train winds its way uphill toward Tehachapi Summit.At the back of the train is another GE Tier 4 (ES45AH) working as a ‘Distributed Power Unit’—a radio controlled engine.
A nearly new Union Pacific GE tier 4 in fresh paint was an added attraction to the uphill Z-train (UP’s term for a priority intermodal run).
Last weekend, I gazed down upon that famous spiral officially known on the late Southern Pacific as Walong, but to the rest of the world as the ‘Tehachapi Loop’.
It was, and still is, one of the great places to watch trains; and on this day it didn’t disappoint. I’d been away a long time and now I was back.
The last time I was here, I’d stayed with my friends Dave and Helen Burton, who lived just over the hill on the north side of the spiral. Back then, Southern Pacific still owned the line, and the merger that was to consume the Santa Fe Railway was still more than a year away.
Now, SP, Santa Fe, and Dave and Helen are all just memories.
It was strange to watch a train traverse the loop. I was delighted to see it, but sad. It was like seeing some weird vision of the future.
So, I made these images—my first digital photos of this often-photographed landmark—while thinking back to earlier times.
I dedicated books to both of my friends: to Dave, I dedicated my BNSF book of 2005.
Last week (July 2016) I went for a spin on some brand new Kinkisharyo model P3010 light rail cars on the Los Angeles Gold Line extension to East LA.
Although the cars read ‘Test Train’ in the destination board, they were in fact running in revenue service. The automated station announcements hadn’t been activated, so instead a real live employee was calling out the stops.
The cars were shiny and still had that ‘new car’ aroma.
Pretty neat.
I made these photographs with my Lumix LX7
A pair of new Kinkisharyo cars approach the Gold Line station at Little Tokyo. Although it reads ‘Test Train’ in the destination board, I was still able to board the cars and take a spin.For interior views such as this one, I use the ‘+1/3’ exposure override feature in combination with the ‘A’ setting on my Lumix LX7. This helps compensate for the outside light streaming through the windows. In post processing, I made adjustments for contrast that help even the scene.Clean and shiny.Test train at Atlantic, the new terminal for the Gold Line in East LA.LA Metro Rail advertisement on the side of the car.New cars accelerate away from the platform at LA Union Station.
Former New Haven Railroad station at Windsor, Connecticut.
Low morning sun diffused with light fog (mist) from the Connecticut River made for nearly ideal lighting to capture this station’s classic architecture.
Tracking the Light is on autopilot while Brian is traveling.
Forty years ago in Mrs. LaFond’s Fifth Grade class (Main Street School room 22) we were tasked to research a National Park. I think the big name parks were more popular, the likes of Yellowstone and whatnot.
I asked if I could research and write about the Joshua Tree National Monument. At the time this wasn’t a full National Park, but Mrs. LaFond agreed, and so I wrote to the Park Service and they sent me some literature about the odd ‘trees’ and the National Monument.
So why was a ten year old living in Monson, Massachusetts interested in Joshua Trees?
At that time, I’d taken a interest in the Santa Fe Railway, stemming in part from some Lionel F3s that my dad had bought us a few years earlier. This manifested into a desire to make an HO scale model of the desert. I’d read about Barstow, California, and the nearest relevant Park to this Santa Fe hub was the Joshua Tree National Monument.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. My friends and I made regular trips to the southern California desert to photograph trains, and finally had the opportunity to see a real live Joshua Tree.
Last weekend, I was exploring the Mojave Desert with fellow photographer David Hegarty, with an eye on photographing Union Pacific and BNSF trains. Again I had the opportunity to place a Joshua Tree in some photographs.
Here are several views of a heavy BNSF ‘earthworm’ grain train crawling upgrade across the desert floor. (The nickname stems from the prominently brown color of the grain cars, their curved body shape and the crawling effect of the long slow moving consist across the landscape). I’ve juxtaposed the freight with a scruffy Joshua Tree. Knowing what you do now, which do you think is the main focus of my photographs?
A southward (old Southern Pacific timetable direction west) BNSF ‘earthworm’ unit grain train climbs across the desert floor near Mojave, California—July2016.
Here’s an irony: after all these years I’ve never been to the Joshua Tree National Park [https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm ] (upgraded in 1994). I have visited Barstow on several occasions. This features a massive yard and a fascinating old Harvey House and railway station, but is a shocking bland town; ugly, sprawling and commercial.
Here’s an exposure quandary. A bright white Metrolink F59PHI in blazing California afternoon sun against a varied background of trees and mountains..
Metrolink’s scheduled train 115 accelerates away from its Simi Valley station stop in July 2016.
Without careful metering and a bit prior experience It would be easy enough to underexpose a photo like this one. (Producing a result that is too dark)
Why? Because the camera meter doesn’t know the locomotive is white, and if relying on many auto exposure settings, metering tends to over compensate as the white engine reached the center of the frame.
On the flipside, the row of trees at the left could fool also the meter into compensating for the relative darkness and thus producing an image that is too light overall with the front of the engine grossly over exposed.
What’s the solution?
Before the train comes into view, make a series of test meter readings while aiming a sunlit neutral portion of the scene such as the ballast. Then observe the relative difference in exposure between lighter and darker areas, make a test photo or two, and if your camera has a histogram check to ensure that the bulk of the exposure is in the center of the graph. Then set the camera manually based on this information.
In my situation, I made a slight adjustment as the locomotive came into view to compensate for the bright white nose section. This meant I needed to stop down (see the aperture to let less light in) by about 1/3 of a stop.
Here’s the Jpg of the train along side the camera’s EXIF data. The relevant fields show that the camera was set at ISO 200; shutter speed 1/500th of a second, and the lens was at f7.1. So why not f8? That would cause the trees to become too dark and the engine appear more gray than white.Here’s my closer view. I retained the same exposure setting.
In both photos, other than scaling for internet presentation, I did not alter the files in regards to exposure, contrast, color or sharpness. These images represent reduced versions of the in camera JPGs (althouth I simultaneously exposed RAW files as well.)
On my theme of ‘getting the angle right’; or rather how slight adjustments in elevation can alter perspective, compare these two recent views of Amtrak 768 Pacific Surfliner at Fullerton, California.
Both were made with my FujiFilm XT1 digital camera and a telephoto zoom lens.
The top view was made from my standing height and aims to include the footbridge.
With the bottom view, I’ve taken a more extreme telephoto focal length while placed the camera very near to platform level. Composition was aided through use of the fold-out rear display. This allows me to hold the camera near to the ground while being able to look down to see the image. (A handy feature of the XT1).
The low angle telephoto is a good means for making a more dramatic view.
A photograph made from my normal standing height. Here I’ve aimed to include the footbridge.For this more dramatic perspective I’ve held the camera very close to the platform-level for a sort of cat’s eye view. The combination of a long telephoto lens and this abnormally low angle makes for a dramatic photo. Back in the 1990s, I made many of these views on film using my Nikon F3T by removing the prism and looking straight down into the viewfinder.
Pan Am 603 catches the glint at East Deerfield, Massachusetts on this day (July 30) three years ago (2013). Canon 7D image adjusted in Lightroom to reduce contrast.
Notice that by working with low sun and cropping the sky, I’ve made an early evening image seem almost like a night time view.
Hint: it really helps to view this post on Tracking the Light to avoid cropping and get the details.
Tracking the Light is on auto pilot while Brian is traveling.
Dublin’s LUAS (not an acronym) is the name for the city’s modern light rail system.
By contrast, the Los Angeles Union Station is now known by its initials LAUS.
Historically, it was called the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, and called LAUPT.
I featured this great terminal in my recent book: Railway Depots, Stations and Terminals, published in 2015 by Voyageur Press.
The other day I revisited the station and made my first digital photographs of the buildings and trains there. (A station is more than just a building or buildings).
Here’s an excerpt of my text:
Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal (LAUPT) was completed in May 1939. It is a rare example of an Art Deco era railway station and one of the few stations that opened during the streamlined era. It’s modern interpretation of the Spanish Mission style design is largely attributed to the LA-based architectural team of John and Donald Parkinson.
Not long ago the old IRT Flushing line was extended west and a new terminal station called 34th Street-Hudson Yards was opened. This is located near the Javits Center and just a few blocks west of Penn-Station.
My digital guru Eric Rosenthal recommended this to me as a photo subject. The station is unusually deep and features very long escalators.
I exposed these images with my Lumix LX7. The underground views were made at ISO200. One of the advantages of the LX7 is that it has a very fast lens. In other words the lens has the ability to let in lots of light.
The advantage of this feature is that I can use a relatively slow ISO setting in the subway and still get excellent results hand held.
The old IRT Flushing line is the first train-ride that I recall.
My dad brought me on this run before I was taking photos.
I made these images last week using my Lumix LX7.
New York City’s Number 7 Flushing Line’s curving undulating elevated structure offers a multitude of angles.
In the evening rush-hour, Flushing trains run at very short intervals, with outbound expresses using the middle track.
Court Square, Queens.
For my money, the number 7 remains one of the coolest transit lines in the City. (And not just because of the photography! The AC actually works on some of the cars.)
Outbound express on the middle track at 46th and Bliss Streets.Tail-end of the outbound express at 46th Street.A view of the Flushing Line from the Long Island Rail Road platforms at Woodside in Queens.Woodside.Older cars at 52nd Street.View from the back of the train at 52nd street.46th and Bliss Streets.
Making my way from point to point underground in New York City, I always keep my Lumix at the ready.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, I made black & white photos of the subway with my old Leica, so I’ve been at this a while.
The mix of old tiles, modern signs and the continual rush of humanity makes for lots of photographic possibilities.
For ease of exposure I set the Lumix to ‘A’ mode for aperture; wind the lens open to about f1.4/f2; set the white balance to ‘auto’, and release the shutter from below eye level (as required).
CSX daylight operations through Palmer, Massachusetts can be a bit sparse these days.
This morning, I was on my way back from some errands and I noted that the local freight (B740) was holding on the controlled siding at CP83 and a New England Central local was stopped south of the Palmer diamond. So I pulled over and parked.
The points at CP83 were made for the main line and the westward signals were all showing red. Armed with this information I concluded that an eastward freight must be close at hand.
I walked up to the South Main Street bridge and gave it a few minutes. Before long an eastward intermodal train came into view with a relatively new General Electric ‘Tier 4’ six-motor in the lead.
My guess is that this train is CSX symbol freight Q022 that runs to Worcester, Massachusetts (but if anyone has better information, I’m open to amending my guess).
Exposed using my Lumix LX7. I used the ‘A’ mode and dialed in -1/3 to compensate for the bright sunlight and the dark side of the train. This image was extracted from the in-camera Jpeg and compressed for internet viewing, but I also made a RAW file of the same image. Both are to be archived on multiple hard drives. I opted for this angle to replicate an image of a Conrail freight that I exposed here in 1984. At some point I’ll post then and now views for comparison.
Tracking the Light sometimes posts more than once per day!
Here’s today’s logical continuation from Sunday’s Tracking the Light.
Lumix LX7 photo.
On arrival at St. George, Staten Island, I had exactly 40 minutes to explore and photograph the old Staten Island Rapid Transit (Staten Island Railway).
Compared with more than 40 years photographing Amtrak, or 18 years photographing Irish Rail, that isn’t a lot of time.
Here’s what I came up with in that short span.
Here’s the face of the Staten Island Railway.St. George terminus.
Staten Island Railway with the Narrows Bridge. Contrast adjusted in Lightroom.Lots of rules and warnings on the line. (see: ‘Code of Conduct’ to the left of the station sigh). No this, no that. Gosh!The railway has an unusual off-center logo. I wonder if that signifies something?
Sunny morning. New York City. Haven’t been to Staten Island in a very long time.
Ferry’s free!
So away I went.
Photos exposed using my Lumix LX7.
Staten Island Ferry terminal in the Battery.US Coast Guard escort across New York Harbor.Manhattan Skyline.Panoramic composite view of Manhattan skyline. Exposed with my Lumix LX7.View of the Narrows Bridge.Passengers make photos and take in the sea-air.One of the ferries docked on the Staten Island side (St. George).Ferry schedule.Heading back toward Manhattan passing the outward scheduled ferry.Staten Island Ferry with famous lady holding torch in background.Back in Manhattan again.
